Farmer's Lung

Farmer's Lung -is a Hypersensitivity pneumonitis induced by the inhalation of biologic dusts coming from Hay dust or mold spores or any other agriculture  products.

Cause:Farmer's lung occurs because repeated exposure to antigen, found in the mold spores of hay, crops, and animal feed, triggers an allergic reaction within the farmer's immune system.People can get Farmer's Lung by breathing in dust containing the spores of special, heat-tolerating bacteria or moulds often found on moldy crops. Spores from two types of bacteria, "Micropolyspora faeni" and "Thermoactinomyces vulgaris", and certain types of moulds called "Aspergillus" are the major causes of Farmer's Lung.

signs and symptoms of Farmer's-
Acute Stage: After four to eight hours symptoms such as headache  irritating cough, and shortness of breath  upon physical exertion, appear.shortness of breath,a sudden general feeling of sickness,fever and chills,a rapid heart rate, and,rapid breathing.

Subacute Stage: Symptoms persist without further exposure, and increase in severity. Symptoms include: shortness of breath  upon exertion, chronic coughing, physical weakness , occasional fever and sweating , decrease in appetite , coughing,a mild fever and occasional chills,a general feeling of sickness,aches and pains in the muscles and joints, and a loss of appetite and loss of weight.

Chronic Stage: Debilitating effects are now considered long-term. Symptoms include: severe shortness of breath, chronic coughing, physical weakness, occasional fever and sweating at night, decrease in appetite, and general aches and pains

Tastes Available For Farmer's Lung-a lung
x-ray
a blood test for antibodies
a pulmonary lavage test to examine the contents in a small area of the lungs
lung function tests to examine air flowing into the lungs and gas exchange from the lungs to the blood
a lung allergy challenge test to identify the specific cause of the allergic reaction, and
a lung biopsy to examine lung tissue in more serious cases

Prevention Of Farmer's Lung-
1.Wet hay, grain, or other crops can be dried at harvest. This is often an effective solution but it is seldom easy and usually expensive.
2.If possible, hay with a high risk of spoilage should be stored in silage instead of bales.
3.Buildings with large amounts of dusty material should be properly ventilated.
4.Farm chores that involve handling hay or feed should be mechanized as much as possible to reduce exposure to moldy dust.5.During cleaning of barns or stables, dust from moldy crops should be wetted down before being swept to prevent it from becoming airborne